Back in the Game

Getting back into a good exercise routine has proven difficult for me this year.  Work has been hectic, it's the middle of summer and about a million degrees most days (ok, that may be a slight exaggeration, but it's been crazy hot!), and I've been horribly ill on top of all that.

During my moments of doubt and desperation I figured out that an exercise buddy was what I needed.  During my 'Fat to Fit Challenge' last year, the girls on the whatsapp group were a god send!  You could moan on your bad days and someone would cheer you up, or tell them about an awesome work out and they would celebrate with you.  It really was a great motivational boost for getting out there.

The running season is well under way and all my "running friends" are in training for anything from half marathons to Comrades, and I'm just not there at the moment.  I know that attempting to join in would just leave me feeling despondent, let alone exhausted!  It's always tough getting back on the horse, so to speak, when you're remembering where you used to be.

With life going on and everyone carrying on in their own little worlds, it's been tough to get into a routine with anyone else, leaving me with very little options and no exercise buddy.  Sad, I know.

My solution?  You!  I figured that as long as I have someone (anyone) to share my stories with, I'll get out there for a run (or walk), or do an exercise routine at home, so that I do in fact have something to tell!

So, this is where I started, just last week.  After having suffered with a very nasty bug for almost a month, I finally felt well enough and brave enough to venture more than 50m away from a bathroom, and went out for a walk.  With tunes jamming on my iPod I set off.  From the road I live in there are two cul-de-sacs, I went down one, and then the other, and then decided I could venture a little further from home and did a little loop around the block.

The thing I love most about being out for a walk is everybody else out there too.  Very few people jog or walk by without a smile and a wave, and it's just nice to be out in the fresh air encountering friendly people.  Drivers are a whole other story all together, but that's for another post.

I have only walked twice since last week, but it's a start.  I'm not particularly fast, but I do choose harder routes that make me have to work for it!  In my weight loss journey I found that lower intensity training for a longer period was better than high intensity training for a short period.  There are many conflicting articles and arguments about the "fat-burning-zone" and what your heart rate should be for maximum results, but I'm doing what I found was best for me.  In a week where I did an 8km hike over 2.5 hours, I lost over 2kg's and a decent amount of centimetres.  Where as the week we did HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), I didn't lose much and actually gained centimetres!

Much needed refreshment

Other than the hills along the route, I live on top of a hill, a steep hill.  Before I used to drive to the bottom and park on a field to avoid having to get back up it at the end of a run/walk, but these days I'm choosing to challenge it.  And quite frankly, I think I'm smashing it!  It's such a sense of achievement getting to the top, and it's awesome!

Hot & Sweaty!

So there it is, my first walk was only 4.5km's and the second was about 1km more than that.  But I'm getting there.  Slowly, but surely I will get back out there and run another half marathon.  It really is my favourite distance, and I'm looking forward to it.  And as for the question in my last post about attempting Sani Stagger again... I have already made a deal with a friend of mine to do it together.  It's going to be epic!

Enjoy the week ahead, happy running, and be safe.

Peace, love and sunshine,

Claire
xx